Now we have all heard about the famous "Bermuda Triangle"
but few (until now) would have heard of the Crediton Triangle,
but do not worry if you feel you have missed out because I want to
share some important information with you which will place Crediton
truly on the map so read on...

Our world and universe, being what they are, have a tendency to create
more than one of a kind and if you look around you will notice that
there are triangles popping up all over the place and the Crediton Triangle
is indeed a very scenic three-sided portion of Devon to explore providing
you know your way around and do not get lost.

The Crediton Triangle as you can see by the map here is defined roughly by
the route of three main roads that run between Cowley Bridge, Crediton and Bickleigh Bridge
although you could say from Cowley Bridge to Bickleigh Bridge to Crediton; it really depends
which way around you like to travel.

Travelling Directions in the Crediton Triangle...

If you want to travel to Crediton via Exeter you can do so by starting off
in Crediton itself and take the Crediton Triangle route (anti-clockwise)...
turn left at Exeter's Cowley Bridge and then when you come to Bickleigh
Bridge you turn left again and finally end up in Crediton where you started from...

Or

If you want to travel to Crediton via Exeter you can do so by starting off
in Crediton itself and take the Crediton Triangle route (clockwise)...
turn right at Bickeigh Bridge and then when you come to Exeter's Cowley Bridge
you turn right again and finally end up in Crediton where you started from...

You just can't go wrong!

If you get lost in the Crediton Triangle then do not worry because eventually
you will find your way to one of the three sides although it might take a while.

Understanding Crediton Triangle Language should you get lost...

NOTE: Please ensure you have your special edition Crediton dictionary to hand
or someone who can interpret proper Olde Devonshire dialect.

Here are some simple examples of how to ask directions to old Exeter in Crediton language...

It is very important to get the sound correct when pronouncing these otherwise your
local Crediton farmer might point you in the direction of some sheep. Better still visitors
who are unfamiliar with the area can stick to the sign-posted paths and not wander
off them - you have three main routes to choose from, simply follow all the other traffic.
If you find yourself following a tractor then you might be lost somewhere in the middle
of the Crediton Triangle or around the edges - stay calm and do not panic.

Bigfoot Sightings?

During December of 2016 this image was taken from the top of Raddon Hills looking south
which is thought to show a rare sighting of Bigfoot running through a field of corn heading in the direction of Thorverton!

These images were shown to two specialists living in the area - one is a cryptozoologist and another a Bigfoot specialist.
One of them said they would need to spend a few years studying the images before they could comment and the other one fainted
because she said she had spent a lot of money on a recent field trip to the USA to search for Bigfoot and if she had known there
was one in the Crediton area she could have saved herself a lot of money.

Once again this is a good example of mysterious forces at work on the planet, taking creatures and items from one place and revealing
them in the Crediton Triangle.

CREDITON

The town of Crediton (Kirton being an older name) is said to have been the
original City for Devon and there is an old ditty that goes, "When Exeter was
nort but a furzey downe, Kirton was a thriving town." One of the main reasons
for this is because it was founded at the far western corner of the Crediton Triangle.
It may well be that it was strongly influenced not only by the natural beauty of this
region but also by powerful energies that have been at work here. One person who was
born here in ancient times had great visions and later became known as St.Boniface, a
major influential figure in Christian Europe. Apparently he went off on a long journey
(as great shepherds do when they lose sheep in the Crediton Triangle) but his reputation
was such that the locals immortalised his image as the town seal which can also be seen
outside one of the local pubs. In other parts of Crediton do not worry if you have
visions of giant ships funnels, very long cars, crocodiles, or even cars on roof tops...
these are all very natural, they may have been transported here by stange and
unexplainable world events or even from other worlds.

RADDON HILLS

The Raddon Hills can be found at the centre of the Crediton Triangle and are a beautiful open
ridge that runs from West to East... or was it from East to West? It is a 235 metre high wild and often windy place
with stunning views to distant corners of Devon.

The western end of the Raddon Hills were once occupied by an early Iron Age hillfort/enclosure although these days the
main occupants are clusters of sheep that roam around nibbling the grass.

Rumour has it that UFO's have been seen from the top of the Raddon Hills but it is hard to make out the true scale of things
because you can see so much and so far! I wonder how many sheep have seen them?

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CREDITON TRIANGLE

My lovely colourful map here gives you an instant guide to the area and influence of the Crediton Triangle...
Well how about that then!

The corners of the triangle are to be found right in the middle of Cowley Bridge,
and right on the bridge at Bickleigh. The third corner is in Crediton itself at the junction of Exeter Road with
Mill St and Charlotte St. - Odd things happen here for often at this place you might see a giant ship's funnel on the roadside or
parts of aircraft or very long American style cars. These are gathered by the Woods Group who do a fine job of reselling
all kinds of stuff lost in the Bermuda Triangle but now found in the Crediton Triangle.

Local historians and eccentric's have for many years had long discussions about where exactly the corners of the Crediton Triangle
actually are and whether they are even corners or whether they are twisted by space-time. But you need not loose too much sleep
over it because they have agreed on the approximate locations as already described.

The influence - vibes - of the triangle are felt much futher away, rippling into nearby valleys and projected onto hill tops.
Thankfully my map shows the rough outline of the Triangle "vibe" shown by the wiggley red line and blobs. If you live within this area,
well, anything could happen. You might be driving along a road that you think is familiar but suddenly find that you are utterly lost,
heading in totally the other direction or you might find yourself transported to another place in the area in an instant. Such
experiences can often be rather unsettling or leave you with a sense of awe.

Bickleigh Bridge

At Bickleigh Bridge each year the thatched cottages, Famous Bickleigh Mill and
Inns on the river bank are threatened with flooding of the river Exe. This again
is caused by water being taken from other places in the universe and deposited
here by natural phenomena. In times past a Giant Monster sized fish appeared during
flooding and used to be displayed inside a large case inside The Trout Inn.
Unfortunately I was not able to find it when I revisited some time later and recieved
some strange looks from new staff when I asked 'where is the big stuffed trout?'
So, if you happen to know where this monster went please let me know and send
me a picture... it may have escaped.

I can highly recommend visiting either of the Inns sited at the bridge: The Trout Inn and
also The Fisherman's Cot. The Cot has a very nice riverside beer garden where you can relax
with views of the bridge and river and plenty of room inside.

The pictures here show the picturesque scenery at Bickleigh bridge where the calm
waters arrive from Exmoor at the corner of the Crediton Triangle and can continue
down the Exe Valley where they develop into great floods and lakes.

The picture below was taken from a balloon in 2007 directly over Bickleigh Bridge...

Cowley Bridge

The site of Cowley Bridge is often passed almost un-noticed by many folk
who travel en route to Crediton via Bickleigh, or to Crediton via Exeter...
that is, except for the garden of Bernadot. Freda, a charming lady
with straw hat who tends the garden there and never seems to age although
she does move from time to time. Maybe her secret of youth is down to the
many cups of tea she has supplied by Dot who lives here in this special
corner of the Crediton Triangle. Keep your eye on Freda because she often
changes her costume depending on the weather!

Cowley Apples

In the late 16th Century John Hooker of Exeter wrote of some of the fine
fruit that was grown in orchards in the area and that many of them were
named after very localised areas. At Cowley Bridge apples were known as the
"Cowley Crab". You can read more about apples in a book called Lost Devon
by Todd Gray although you will have to find the book first.

COWLEY BRIDGE FLOODS

In 2001 and 2013 the main Exeter to London railway line at Cowley Bridge was completely
washed away cutting off Devonshire from the rest of the country! This has made the National News
on several occasions due to this event caused by much gathering of water in this corner of the Crediton Triangle!

SACRED WATERS

You will be pleased to know that not all the waters that flow through and in the Crediton Triangle
are dangerous and menacing! There are several very ancient places where water was of excellent quality
and some considered to have magical and healing properties. At Shobrooke there is a lovely old Holy Well
close to the church there which is decorated each year around the time of the harvest in August.
At Silverton a stream there at Livingshayes is called "heal-eye stream" which was and still is considered to
have healing properties. In Crediton itself near the church is a another Holy Well and there is a Lady Well
just south at Uton. Although Holy Wells often have Christian connections they were frequently sited on much
older sacred water sites, perhaps even going back into pre-history.

More Scenery around the Crediton Triangle...

View looking up a picturesque street in Thorverton.

May 2003 Here is a picture I took of golden Oil-seed crops in the
beautiful Exe Valley. One of the many wonders of the Crediton Triangle.

February 2009 - The sun set with an ancient hedge winding its way over the snowey hills.

February 2009 - Snowey sunset with trees near Crediton

Sunrise on midsummer day 2003

The Gurubuns and the Pixies...

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the words that go missing from
your PC or mobile phone, you know, the words that you thought you typed but
for some reason when you came back to read them they are gone! True to say they
disappear into a black hole perhaps but the forces of the Crediton Triangle being what
they are usually deposit thousands of missing letters where they are gathered up
by Devon Pixies into piles ready to compose poems. The Gurubun's are large rabbits that
have, for many generations, been eating letters and have become very intelligent and are
also wise too!

For those of you (indeed many) who have never seen a Gurubin before I have done this
lovely picture of one because they are rather shy creatures and not often seen unless
you happen to be really really lucky like I was on one occasion.

Some even believe that memories are sucked up and then deposited in the
Crediton Triangle. It does explain what happens when you walk from one room
to another to get something and then forget what you went into that room for!

CADBURY CASTLE

With a name like Cadbury Castle, and now knowing more about the Crediton Triangle, you might
picture in your mind a proper olde English castle with towers all made from delicious Cadbury
chocolate (yummy!) but alas there is nothing of a kind here... that's because a local dragon
that some claim to have seen in the area is likely to have breathed its hot breath and melted all
the chocolate which has then flowed down the river Exe. Perhaps this is why the Exe is chocolate
coloured in times of flood?

The real Cadbury castle was an Iron Age fortified enclosure and is on top of a high hill just
south-west of Bickleigh. There is a path that leads to it and according to a sign I once saw nearby
there is also parking. I did try to find this parking place once but concluded it is for Pixie's only
because after driving half a mile in the direction of the sign I still found nothing too obvious.

But there is a legend about a dragon that is said to fly between Cadbury Castle and another ancient
enclosure at Dolbury Hill, Killerton not too far away. The dragon is said to guard treasure at Cadbury and
look after a local family known as the Fursdon's of Fursdon.

Dragon cloud seen near Exeter!

Bickleigh Castle

The famous Bickleigh Castle viewed across the moat has a 14th century gatehouse
and a rich history going back to Norman times. It is recorded also in the Doomsday
book and was the family home of the Carew family in the 17th century.

The River Dart at Bickleigh!

Most people living in Devon know all about the River Dart - it begins in the middle of
Dartmoor and flows south passing through Totnes and on to the sea at Dartmouth.
But few until now will understand that there is a second River Dart in Devon which flows
into the river Exe near Bickleigh Castle! No wonder there is so much flood water in the Crediton
Triangle due to water vanishing from the first Dart and then appearing in the second Dart.
I have marked the second Dart on the maps so you can see.

My maps took some time to do as I had to stitch together O/S maps on
the computer then use Adobe Photoshop to do all the details layer by layer, tracing
each contour and river and road and colouring it all in - looks nice though!
This one above shows the topography of the area with the hills and valleys and rivers.

Then the map I have done below shows the network of roads and lanes that overlay the
area which when compared with the topography reveals the ancient routes that criss-cross
linking towns, villages and farms. You can probably see how some look like they once joined up
where they cross rivers - well they once did but the old crossing places have long been lost over time.

Some of the older routes in Devon follow the hill top ridges and some were pre-Roman whereas others
were more firmly established in Saxon times when the parish boundary's were set. There was an ancient
route from Exeter to Crediton along the high ridges to the south. There were also valley routes as well.

Going Potty in the Crediton Triangle

The Crediton Triangle has had a major influence over the art world, in particular
pottery, and it is just within the Bickleigh corner where Devon's biggest and best
pottery festival took place each year. You can read all about this by clicking the
link below... if all goes well you should remain in the Crediton Triangle and arrive
at the Bickleigh page, if not, you could end up anywhere in cyberspace! Good luck.

Bernaville Nurseries and Gold Mining

Now most folk who come to the Crediton Triangle are here for a very
good reason... Bernaville Nurseries.
If you want ANYTHING for your garden then this is the place to come to.
They have a huge garden centre here with lots of nice plants and a massive
gift shop with cafe and all the latest facilities. They also have a large
aquatic section with tropical fish and pond fish too. I bought these two
lovely items for my rockery from their outdoor statue selection.

But while folk are busy digging holes in their gardens few will realise that
the Romans were reputed to have been digging even larger ones on the hills nearby
almost 2000 years ago! They were mining lead ore here and although little trace of
the mines of that time remain a few 18th and 19th century shafts exist. Devon and
Cornwall are riddled with old mine workings and as well as Lead ore, pockets of
Manganese were also mined at Upton Pyne and Stoke Canon in the last few centuries.

Some of the valleys around the Crediton Triangle also contain... wait for it... GOLD!
But before you all go rushing out to buy spades from Bernaville Nurseries the gold is
found in tiny grains that are so small you need a scope to see them (and even then the
imagination can work wonders!) However, an official commerical gold mine was opened
several decades ago in the area but I am not sure if it was successful for long.

This colourful map shows the bedrock geology that underlies the Crediton Triangle area.
Although there are just a few colours showing that define the geological formation types,
I have decided not to note what they are here because it is far more complicated than it looks!
Readers should consult the British Geological Survey website where you will find an interactive
Geology of Britain Viewer. There you can point to each formation and full information is given.

The main geology of the area is made up of Mudstones, Sandstones, Breccias and a few
igneous intrustions. Sandstones are mainly derived from when the region was an ancient
scorching hot desert and breccia's are often a clongomerate of material washed down in
flash floods. Mudstones are usually made up of silts that were once deposited on ocean
floors. The igneous intrusions are derived from volcanic activity that melted its way
through the existing rocks.